


Did You Know?

by DashFlintceschi



Category: You Me At Six
Genre: Dan likes facts, Gen, Josh gets defensive, Max Matt and Chris don't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 00:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1708796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan likes facts, Josh likes that Dan likes facts. The rest of the band aren't quite as enthusiastic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Did You Know?

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7eVZZ556xE. I've been meaning to write this for a while, but I only just got around to it. All of the facts were taken from this thread on goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1006385-1-000-random-facts.
> 
> Also, if someone could tell me how to code links on here, I'd really appreciate it.

Dan likes odd facts. Or just facts in general. His band mates have long been used to hearing ‘hey, did you know…?’ at least once a day. He seems to have gotten worse, lately, though, and it seems to his friends that every time he opens his mouth, it’s to impart some random fact he’s picked up from somewhere.

“Hey, Max, did you know that mosquito repellents don't repel. They actually hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there. Weird, eh?” Max hums distractedly, pretending to listen. He got good at ignoring Dan and his annoying facts a while ago.

“Matt, did you know that there were 965 drummers involved in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony?” Matt just grunts in irritation. He’s never been able to block Dan out, and he’s starting to get on Matt’s last nerve.

“Here’s a good one, Chris, did you know that the flavour we think of as ‘bubblegum’, is actually a combination of wintergreen, vanilla, and a form of cinnamon called cassia?” Chris just waves him off disinterestedly, not lifting his head to see the dejected look on Dan’s face. When Dan approaches Josh, he’s much quieter and more timid than usual.

“Hey, Josh, did you know our band mates hate me?” He asks, his voice shaking slightly.

Josh does his best to reassure his best friend, and once Dan seems to have cheered up a bit, Josh excuses himself and goes looking for the other three. He finds them at the other end of the bus, laughing and joking together.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re all happy, because our best friend is miserable in there because of you!” They all freeze and look at him with confused eyes as he snarls at them. “I know you all see Dan and his odd little facts as a nuisance, but they make him happy, and he shares them with us because we’re his best friends, his brothers, and he wants to make us happy with them, too. The fact that him sharing that with us bothers you so much clearly proves you don’t care about him anywhere near as much as he cares about us!” He sneers, and they continue to gape at him, none of them knowing what to say. Dan’s heard every word, the bus isn’t that big, and he appreciates Josh’s efforts, but he doesn’t hear what Josh says next.

When Dan wanders to the front of the bus a few hours later, feeling much cheerier, he’s surprised to find all four of them sitting on the couch, waiting for him. Josh is the first to speak, with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“Hey, Dan, did you know that the oldest known goldfish lived to 41 years old? His name was Fred.”

“And did you know that if you pinch your nose, you can’t hum?” Chris carries it on, and a grin slowly creeps onto Dan’s face as he realises what they’re doing.

“Did you know that most of the animals and plants in the world are only present in Madagascar, and nowhere else?” Max adds, smiling apologetically.

“Did you know the youngest parents ever recorded were eight and nine years old? They lived in China around 1918,” as Matt rattles this off, Dan thinks that’s them done, and he’s happy with the most thoughtful apology anyone’s ever given him.

He’s surprised, though, when they keep going. By the time they’re done, Dan’s learned that men can be allergic to their own semen; human thigh bones are stronger than concrete; lethologica is the state of not being able to remember a word you want to say; it is possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not down; Isaac Newton died a virgin; a group of kittens is called a kindle, while a group of adult cats is a cloister; statistics show that left-handers die earlier than right-handers; and human saliva has a boiling point three times higher than normal water.

Dan opens his mouth to speak when they seem to be done, but Chris raises his hand to interrupt him.

“And lastly, did you know that being ignored produces the same chemicals in the brain as a physical injury, and that we are so, so sorry,” he finishes earnestly, and Dan smiles.

“I know, and that was all you had to say, but I appreciate it all the same. You don’t have to be enthusiastic or even interested, all I want is for you guys to listen,” he tells them, and the four of them nod in agreement, but Dan shakes his head. “I didn’t mean you, J, you never had anything to apologise for, you always seem to look forward to hearing whatever random fact I have for you every day,” he insists, and Josh nods with a smile.

“That’s because I do. I think it’s so cool, all these weird little things you seem to know, for absolutely no reason,” he admits, and the others nod in suddenly realised agreement.

Dan tries to curb himself from then on, only giving each of them one fact each day, except for Josh. He thinks of a random fact for Josh at least once every hour, and Josh never stops looking forward to them.


End file.
